The Marauders And Evans Present: Baby Harry
by Jack'N'SallyGal
Summary: Sirius came to stand beside the crib, panicking once more as the baby squirmed, his face reddening as he flailed his little limbs. "That won't do, will it?" Casting a surreptitious glance over his shoulder, Sirius lifted the baby into his arms. Oneshots with the Marauders and our favorite redhead featuring BabyHarry.
1. Chapter 1

In the cover of darkness, Sirius Black settled comfortably into a rocking chair. It creaked under his weight and he stilled, terrified at the thought of disturbing the other occupant in the room. The Potter nursery was blessedly silent, the only sound coming from a small Quidditch mobile that dangled over the crib. The creature – child, Sirius corrected with a lopsided grin, was silent as he settled in for the night.

James had changed his nappie before putting him down, hands fumbling as he adjusted to the task. They were both new at all of this, having been parents only a week. While James changed, the baby howling in protest, Lily stood beside him, smiling lovingly despite the wailing and peppering James' unshaven cheek with kisses when he finished.

They were beside themselves with happiness. Even when their little bundle of joy kept them up with his cries, they went through the rest of the day exhausted but content to care for him, speaking in silly voices and cuddling him close whenever he wasn't being passed among their friends.

Sirius had yet to hold him. It was disgraceful behavior coming from the godfather, he knew. But truth be told, he couldn't bear to hold him. He let the others pass him around, with their soppy cooing noises and making a game out of whose nose the baby had. Sirius would laugh along, all the while staring at the tiny human who had come barreling into their lives.

He was tiny and rather wrinkly. He'd be a handsome bloke, like his da. It was early days still, but it looked like he'd have his mum's eyes. James' hair if things stayed the way they were now. And Merlin help them all, he was bound to be a troublemaker with James' knack for it and Lily's talent for not getting caught.

Sirius contemplated his godson's future, trying to imagine him growing up to wreak havoc at Hogwarts, play his first Quidditch match…

He was startled out of his thoughts by soft disgruntled noises coming from the crib. Sirius ceased his rocking and froze, staring with wild eyes panic at the crib. He barely breathed, praying to Merlin and whoever else was listening that he would fall back to sleep so Sirius could make his exit.

No such luck.

The baby stirred, his arms stretching, legs fussing. He whimpered and his little body wriggled, displaying a fierce discontent. The corner of Sirius' mouth hitched up as he watched the display. His grin disappeared entirely when the baby stilled and then let out a loud wail.

Before he could form a strategy, approach the situation with a plan of attack, Sirius was out of the chair. He came to stand beside the crib, panicking once more as the baby squirmed, his face reddening as he did so.

"That won't do, will it?"

Casting a surreptitious glance over his shoulder, Sirius lifted the baby into his arms. He was mindful of the way Lily held him, tucking the infant against her side with a hand to cradle his head. He tried to replicate her hold; positive he was mucking things up when the baby continued whimpering.

"What's all this about? You have a clean nappie, you were fed."

Sirius stared down at the infant with a frown.

"And I do believe I saw the pair of them give you goodnight kisses, three each, before putting you in for the night. That's not a bad lot in life, mate."

The baby didn't seem to care that he had been lovingly tended before being settled in. He continued to squirm, making fitful baby noises as Sirius glanced around the room for a diversion.

"Look at this!" Sirius grabbed the toy Hippogriff from the changing table, brandishing it as if it were the best thing in the entire world.

"Remus gave this to you, didn't he? You seem fond of it. You've drooled on it enough…"

Out of ideas, Sirius carried the squalling Potter over to the rocking chair. He abandoned the toy and settled into the chair, rocking gently. His hands felt too large, clumsy even, as he cradled the baby in his arms. The rocking seemed to help, but he was still restless. His mouth was scrunched but his eyes were wide open, giving Sirius the feeling that he was being carefully scrutinized.

Sirius couldn't say what, but something shifted. It started in his chest. He could feel the warmth of the little bundle, smell the powder James applied to his bum, and the soap Lily had used for his bath earlier in the day. Unsure of himself, Sirius bent down, hesitating only a moment, before dropping a quick kiss on his forehead.

"Harry," he breathed as if it was a secret between the two of them. He hadn't said the name yet, he realized. He rarely thought of him anything other than Prongs Jr. or the baby.

But he was Harry. _Sirius Black had a godson._

Sirius straightened, feeling his heart expand in his very chest. It was an odd feeling, almost totally unfamiliar, but not unpleasant. He held Harry for some time, both of them content to rock in complete silence.

Finally, the feeling registered and Sirius held the baby tighter, smiling into the near darkness.

"Family," Sirius said softly, brushing his fingers over the thick crop of black hair with a smile.

"I'm sorry I was a little late to the party. The others are better at all of this, you see. But like it or not, you're stuck with me and I'm sticking with you."

Sirius continued on, murmuring to his godson in a low, conversation tone, hardly minding that somewhere between the gentle rocking and his godfather's revelation, Harry had fallen back into a contented sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't…."

James stared down at the changing table, a frown ruffling his expression.

He tried again, "How do I do this?"

As if sensing his father's uncertainty, Harry took the opportunity to wee perilously close to James' face. Sputtering in surprise and horror, James reached for a nappie and tossed it over his son's bits to stop the stream from soaking him.

The room was dead quiet and then Peter let out the tiniest squeak, a small, muffled laugh that had Remus and Sirius nearly falling over as they exploded in laughter. Harry kicked his legs gleefully, as if sensing he was the cause of the merriment and the marauders laughed harder, positively howling at James' deepening frown.

"He tried to wee on me!"

James was the picture of outrage. Eyes wide behind his crooked spectacles, he looked between his mates and his son, as if demanding answers. Harry merely cooed and reached for his da with both chubby fists. Unable to resist, James offered the boy his fingers, smiling at the way he clutched them in his drool-soaked fingers.

Previous, wee-related transgressions were quickly forgotten.

"Since you're completely useless at this," Sirius remarked with a fondness that softened his words, "I vote that we call Mrs. Prongs in to help."

"Can't. Lily is resting up. I'm taking this shift and she'll be up later tonight to change him."

"What about your mum? Wasn't she staying to help?" Remus pointed out.

"I told her to go home," James said miserably.

"She was tired and I figured I could get a handle on things on my own."

"So, so wrong," Sirius said to the other two, earning quiet laughter.

In the end it was a group effort.

James secured the nappie over Harry's bits. He talked low, soothing nonsense to his son while Remus fetched the powder and Sirius located a clean onesie. For his part, Peter was on hand for moral support. He cheered James on when he wiped Harry's soiled bottom. He offered to get James a bucket when his friend turned an alarming shade of green, gagging at the smell coming off the young Potter's nappie.

"This is awful," James moaned as he breathed through his mouth and chucked the used nappie.

He shuddered before returning to getting Harry into the onesie, no easy feat as his son wriggled delightedly in his arms.

"How can someone so tiny do so much damage?"

"He's a little poo-monster," Sirius cooed.

"Aren't you, Harry m'boy?"

Once they had him secured in his onsie, freshly powdered and changed, Sirius scooped the boy up. Harry was then passed around according to their new nighttime ritual. Each of the three men said their goodnights, imparting strange bits of wisdom such as:

_Drink up all the milk Evans gives you. That way you can grow up to be a strong bloke who gives all those nasty Slytherin gits hell._

_Be sure to never listen to a word Padfoot says, ever._

_Don't poo again until it's your mum can fetch you. Your da is rubbish at it._

James rolled his eyes as they took the piss. Finally it was his turn. His mates quit the room, leaving James his small bit of father-son goodnight time. Grabbing the stuffed Hippogriff that Harry liked to sleep with, he tucked his son into his crib, position the Hippogriff so it appeared to be standing watch.

"Goodnight, then, Harry."

James touched the crown of his head, smiling as his son's eyes closed sleepily.

"I'll get better at all this rubbish, promise. Stick with me for now. And no more trying to wee on your dear old dada, alright?"

James dropped a kiss on his cheek, offered one last look at their boy, before turning out the light and re-joining his mates.


	3. Chapter 3

Remus awoke to an odd, shrill noise coming from the front room of his flat. He rolled over, burying his face into his pillow, determined to cling to the remaining hours of sleep he had ahead of him. It only took another few moments to piece together that it was his wards screaming, letting him know someone was attempting to get in.

He came awake instantly, flinging off his covers and reaching for his wand as he bolted from his bedroom. He took cover off to the side of his bookshelf as he aimed his wand and lowered the wards. Instantly, Sirius tumbled in through the front door. He was still wearing a nightshirt but he had dragged on a pair of dirty trousers. He looked around the flat wildly until his eyes landed on Remus.

"There was an attack," he said hoarsely, dropping onto the lumpy sofa.

Remus dropped his wand on an end table and came to sit next to Sirius.

"Who?"

"Prongs. They're alright," Sirius hurried to explain at Remus' agonized look.

"Someone marked the door," he continued. "They wrote Mudblood. Stuck a curse on it so it won't come off."

Remus let out the breath he'd been holding. He brushed a hand over his rumpled hair, feeling much too old for his twenty years.

"They weren't hurt?"

"No. Whoever did it," Sirius clenched his jaw before continuing, "They didn't try to get in. Just set off an alarm when they fucked with the door."

Remus nodded, deep in thought. His mind was already racing with possibilities, potential assailants. There were so many of them, it was hard to narrow down the list.

"I'll get changed and head over with you."

Ten minutes later they were seated around the kitchen table at Godric's Hollow. Lily was pacing, her wand clutched in one hand, the other clenching and unclenching as she walked the length of the kitchen. James was seated at the table. He was out of sorts from being awoken so suddenly, and was cuddling baby Harry close, looking lost in thought.

"We have to _do_ something."

It was Sirius who broke the quiet. Marlene McKinnon levitated the kettle to the table before handing a cup to Sirius and Remus. Lily and James were too unsettled to handle a warm beverage. Marlene took a seat across from Remus. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a hasty knot, a robe thrown over her night clothes. She was shaking her head.

"What do you want us to do? Run out and barge into every Death Eater haunt out there, demanding answers?"

"It would be a bloody start," Sirius snapped.

"Marlene's right, Sirius."

Lily had stopped pacing. She touched the crown of Harry's head, her fingers ghosting over the softness before she gazed at the incensed Marauder.

"There's no way to tell who did it. The best we can do is report it –"

"Fat lot of good that will do. Come on, Evans, you know the Ministry's about as useful as a broken wand."

"It's all we can do for now, mate," James added.

"So, we, what? Sit here?"

Sirius looked to Remus for backup but he merely shook his head, indicating that he agreed with the rest of them. Disgusted, Sirius looked at Peter who ducked his head rather than answer.

"What if they come back? What the hell do we do then?"

"You think I haven't thought about that?" James demanded. His voice continued to rise and Harry began to squirm in his arms.

"You think I like sitting here with my thumb up my arse? If there was a way I could do a better job of protecting my family, I would, in a heartbeat."

"Then why are you waiting on the Ministry, mate? They won't do a damn thing and you know it."

"Of course I know it!" The words seemed to erupt from James.

Remus flinched and Marlene glanced down at the table as the baby moved restlessly in his father's arms.

"I knew it six months ago when they tortured Dorcas within an inch of her life. I'm well aware of what's happening when all the other families that are missing, or worse, wind up in The Prophet. I knew it then and I know now how utterly useless I am. Does that satisfy you, Sirius? Or would you like me to go on about how terrified I am each time I leave my wife and son?"

Lily swooped in, grabbing Harry from James' arms as the baby began to cry. She looked between James and Sirius with a furious expression that was ruined by the tears gathering in her eyes. Disgusted with himself, James reached for her hand but she moved out of reach, cuddling Harry close as she took to the stairs.

James and Remus went to work on breaking the curse that was on the door. They managed to make a dent in the magic so it faded, but they were both too tired from work and Order business to try each spell in their arsenal. Peter gave a few attempts, frustrated when the letters glowed back at them mockingly.

"Why don't you try to talk to Lily," Remus remarked quietly.

"It's getting to her and she needs you."

"She looked like she would murder me in the kitchen," James said quietly, ready to blast the bloody door and be done with it.

"She was doing her best to keep from crying," Remus corrected him gently

James felt his chest constrict as he remembered the look on her face and the way she'd ignored his hand when he'd reached for her. He left Remus, who enlisted Marlene and Sirius to help with the door, and brewed a cup of tea to take upstairs.

He made his way upstairs to the end of the hall where Lily had seated herself with Harry on the nursery floor. Her hair was pulled back away from her face; something she'd gotten into the habit of so Harry wouldn't catch strands of it and get it in his mouth. She was propped against the wall, a blanket in her lap as their son settled back to sleep. At the sound of his approach, she glanced up, going for her wand and then relaxing when she saw who it was.

James lowered himself to the floor, scooting back against the wall and mirroring her position. He watched mother and baby for a few moments, still astounded by what they had created. Someone so small, made up of what he considered to be the best of both of them. He wondered if it would always astound him. He hoped he never got used to the feeling.

"Brought you tea."

He indicated the cup and Lily nodded, her eyes still locked on the bundle in her arms.

"You remember how we argued before he was born?" Lily asked softly.

James said nothing and she glanced up, looking close to tears again. She tried to smile even as the liquid spilled onto her cheeks.

"I wanted a baby so badly. I know you did too, you said as much, but you were afraid," Lily dashed away the tears that leaked from the corner of her eyes.

His stomach knotted at the sight of her puffy eyes and he noticed, for the first time, the dark circles that were etched beneath each eye. It was more than lack of sleep from being new parents. They had their share of sleepless nights, but he knew it was fear more than anything that kept her awake and exhausted.

"You had every right to be afraid, to ask me what I was thinking, even considering being a mum at a time like this. And when you say those things, like you did in the kitchen, I know what you're thinking. I know that a small, very real part of you deeply regrets agreeing to bring a baby into all of this."

Without another word, Lily lifted Harry and handed him off to James, who accepted the weight of his son before he could even formulate a response to her heartbreaking words. He held their sleeping child as she covered her face with her hands and wept. She cried silently, choking on her sobs to keep from waking Harry and it tore at his heart until he could hardly breathe.

Even when she was at her worst; tired, terrified, and so very afraid for her small family, she had her son in mind. When she lifted her head to look at Harry, cradled in his arms, she had to press the back of her trembling hand against her mouth to keep from waking him.

"What have I done?" she whispered.

"My sweet boy."

James rose to his feet, handling the baby with all the care in the world, he placed him back in his crib, kissing his head softly before returning to his wife. He scooted close to Lily, drawing her into a fierce hug. He was glad when she wound her arms around his waist. She hung on tightly, burying her face in his shoulder as he stroked a hand down her back, holding her close with his other arm.

"We had to keep living," he said quietly.

"Life doesn't stop for war, Lily. And I knew what we were getting into when we sat down and talked about having him. I never thought it would be easy, but I knew we'd be the best parents, do the best we can for him."

James leaned back and tucked a finger under her chin. He tilted her face up so she'd meet his eye and he swiped the remaining tears away with his thumbs.

"I'm terrified sometimes, and I know you are, too. But you and Harry are everything to me, and I don't regret anything we've done for a minute."

Lily nodded, releasing a shaky breath. She turned her face into one of his hands that cradled her face, kissing his palm tenderly.

"I couldn't do any of this without you."

James grinned crookedly, feeling the ache in his chest ease.

"Lucky for you, you'll never have to."


	4. Chapter 4

"All in favor of another Potter infant, say _aye_."

There were a chorus of _aye's_ around the table. Lily rolled her eyes at Sirius, who initiated the vote in a drunken display of stupidity, before seeking out James' gaze across the table. He was burping Harry, and shrugged with a wry twist of his lips that betrayed his amusement.

"If you agree to work the night shift, burping and feeding, we can negotiate," Lily said finally.

"It would never work, love. You know how Sirius feels about his beauty sleep."

James batted his eyelashes at Sirius, who would have slugged him in the arm if not for the presence of the young Potter.

"Besides." Remus slurred, "Padfoot's nappy changing skills are shambolic at best."

"Downright non-existent at worst," Peter added through a hiccup.

At the lighthearted attack, Sirius held up his hands in surrender.

"Only taking the piss. Baby Harry's more than enough. What with the endless pooing and drooling bit he has going on."

James handed the baby off to Lily, who cuddled him close, tucking a blanket around his ears.

"I happen to like his pooing and drooling," she teased.

"He excels at both."

"Well he _is_ a Potter," Sirius said, earning him a sharp jab from James.

* * *

When they returned home later that night, Lily put Harry to bed and joined James in the kitchen for a bowl of ice cream. He dished them each a bowl, filling them with huge scoops that Lily devoured with relish. She was so taken with the ice cream after having an extremely long day at home and with the Order, that she didn't catch James' stare immediately.

When she finally did, feeling the way he was looking at her more than seeing it, she began wiping at her mouth, thinking she might have an errant dab of ice cream somewhere.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" She asked.

James startled, getting back to his melting ice cream as he looked away.

"What? Nothing."

"Liar," Lily said gently. She nudged his shoulder and then leaned into him, enjoying the warmth of his body next to hers.

"What is it?"

"I think we should have another."

"We're almost out, I think. The carton's running low…"

And then Lily paused and it hit her what he was saying. Not about ice cream, which was her original thought. But in regards to the conversation at dinner, which she reminded him, was started after several bottles of wine were consumed.

"James, the timing is so-"

"But when will it ever be the right time? There's always going to be something, isn't there?"

"I can't be certain, but I'm hoping there isn't always going to be a war. Besides, I'm not ready to be pregnant again," she admitted.

"I loved carrying Harry, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to do it so soon. It was miserable the last few months when Moody wouldn't let me do patrols or hardly anything. I couldn't see my own feet and I had to use the loo every minute of the day."

"What was it Moody said when you tried to argue with him?"

Lily immediately jumped from the counter, so she could stand at attention, the way Moody did She lowered her voice to match his gruff brogue and James nearly fell over laughing.

"'_No patrols for you, Potter. How am I supposed to trust your footwork during a duel if you can't even see your own feet_!'"

They laughed at the memory, mostly the ridiculous way Moody and the others handled the pregnancy, as if Lily would break if she so much as lifted her wand.

When Lily joined James back at the counter, some of his amusement had faded. She understood why. Another baby was a topic that came up frequently these days. Harry was just beginning to sleep through the night, making everything a bit more peaceful and normal around the house.

And she knew that, despite the danger, James wanted more children so Harry would have playmates growing up. He often looked back on his own childhood, wishing there had been another child around to make things livelier when the adults were preoccupied. Someone to join him at Hogwarts, or to look out for, or look out for him.

He had found that eventually with the Marauders, and he was more grateful than he could say. He just wanted to be sure Harry would have those bonds in his life no matter what.

Lily knew all of this, and still, she wasn't ready to begin trying again. She would give James anything she could, but they both knew this was something she wanted to wait on. And even though he respected the choice and logic behind it, he couldn't help waiting for the day when the house would be spilling over with kids.

"We'll keep talking about it, love." Lily promised.

"Someday, sooner rather than later, it will be a yes."

She reached a hand out to cradle his face and James leaned into the gesture with a soft, somewhat drunk smile.

"I know. In the meantime, we best get to practicing."

Lily had an idea that she was about to be seduced and set aside her ice cream with a wide smile.

"Yes, of course. Best not to forget the mechanics of it all."

Baby Harry slept on, undisturbed, as downstairs his father whisked his mum off the counter and snogged her senseless.

* * *

**A/N Hello, all! Thanks so much for those of you who are reading/reviewing and asking about the story. I'm so glad you're liking the oneshots I'm putting up. **

**If you ever have any ideas for scenes you'd be interested in seeing, let me know! I'll try to write something that relates to it and put it up.**


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